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McLaren F1 team bosses Zak Brown and Stella pointed to competitors for the incident between Piastri and Lando Norris at the start of the United States Grand Prix sprint race.

Piastri, ahead of Norris in the championship by 22 points, made contact with his team-mate after colliding with the Hulkenberg.

The incident took both team drivers out of the event, along with the Alonso, who was on the inside of the Sauber driver.

Team Executives Express Disappointment Over Crash

Brown, McLaren Racing's CEO, told broadcasters that some of the driving at the front was "amateur hour", remarking: "Clearly Hulkenberg made contact with Piastri and he had no business being where he was."

The team boss Stella commented: "Our feeling is that we are displeased that we were denied the chance to compete."

"It's surprising that some racers with a lot of expertise don't act with appropriate caution. Enter the initial turn, ensure you avoid harming other drivers and carry on."

The team suggested that Stella was referring to both the Sauber driver and Alonso.

Differing Perspectives on the Incident

However, former champion Hill, providing analysis for BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, said he believed the Australian had not demonstrated enough understanding of the risks of the first corner of an Formula 1 event when he chose to cut back to try to overtake Norris.

Piastri had a better start than the Briton and initially competed on the outer side on the ascending approach to the turn.

However he then cut back in an attempt to get a run on his teammate on the exit, only to make contact with Hulkenberg.

Driver Reactions After the Collision

Piastri said: "Not ideal but I haven't seen what occurred, I tried to move inside on Lando and we were both very far from the apex and then got a hit and it propelled me into Norris. Unfortunate."

Norris commented: "I just got hit, right? I did nothing wrong. Behind us things happened and I just was unfortunate and got hit because of it. I am unsure. I need to look a bit more carefully. It's more people behind just being a bit reckless and we are the result of that."

Alonso said: "At one point I thought I was in the right place on the inside, but some cars came very quickly from the outer side switching back and then I was there in the center."

Hulkenberg, who had earned a best qualifying fourth place, said: "Major disappointment. All the strong performance from the previous day in the trash. Just messy."

"Piastri turned in pretty forcefully trying to get the inside line and exit of the first corner but I cannot vanish."

"I had Alonso attack on the inside and I was unable to see him any more. I aimed to provide room for him and then Oscar steered inward and the contact was unavoidable."

Aftermath and Team Response

McLaren will analyze the crash with their drivers but only after the race weekend. Both cars needed significant repairs before grand prix qualifying at 10 PM BST on the weekend.

The team principal said: "Overall displeased but we take it on the chin, we are now concentrating on fixing the vehicles, there is a lot to do and then we will restart the weekend from there."

"We are in a competitive place from our competitiveness point of view so I hope we have the possibility to race, race normally and capitalise on our performance."

"Championship points are the most important thing, I don't want to talk about mal-intent, just caution. A little more care would be beneficial for everyone."

Championship Implications

The sprint event was won by Red Bull's Verstappen, who closed in on both team racers in the championship - he is now 55 points behind the Australian and thirty-three adrift of the Briton.

The team boss said: "The implication is what the maths show - we missed out on eight points with both drivers, but we focus on ourselves. We have a highly capable vehicle and two strong drivers. We anticipate just some normal racing."

Verstappen said he was approaching the championship race by race.

US GP

October 17-19, with main event from 20:00 BST on the final day

Real-time analysis on BBC Radio 5 Live, Sports Extra and Sports Extra 2; live text updates on BBC Sport website and mobile application